Dear Councilmembers,

As stewards of the San Dieguito River Valley, we are writing to express outrage over an issue of critical public concern threatening one of the last protected river valleys in San Diego County.

Jenny Goodman, your deputy city attorney, is scheming with Surf Cup Sports to dodge a difficult lawsuit and ask for your approval of a resolution to eviscerate all environmental and land use restrictions on some 114-acres of sensitive open space in the San Dieguito River Valley currently leased from the City by Surf Cup Sports.

That property was set aside by the City in 1983 as permanent open space park with habitat and trail systems in exchange for Watt Industries’ development of the Fairbanks Ranch neighborhoods. The land, first used as polo fields and today abused for commercial sporting and other large-scale events throughout the year, is meant to be protected under a grant deed that prohibits commercial use, large gatherings of people and vehicles, and limits use to 25 days a year among other restrictions.

The Fairbanks Polo Club Homes homeowners’ association holds that grant deed and, as you know, sued the City of San Diego for not enforcing the grant deed provisions as they relate to Surf Cup Sports’ tenancy and use of the fields. Ms. Goodman and Surf Cup Sports now are hoping to sidestep that trial and, in a betrayal of your Council’s commitments to the public, are seeking your votes to gut and destroy the grant deed.

Not only would this set a bad precedent for you and your fellow councilmembers, it would put the Council’s credibility on the line for the entire City of San Diego: Will anyone trust the Council to honor current open-space deals or future ones? If you and your colleagues unwind the deed restrictions on this sensitive open space in the San Dieguito River Valley – a clear violation of the public trust – your credibility will be tarnished and your district may well be next in line.

We urge you to vote NO on any resolution to terminate the Grant Deed restrictions.